I’ve been in this conversation countless times now. I’ve had it both with Objectivists and the religious. I call them out on their abuse. Against the religious, I called out the church once for their beheadings, witch hunts, domestic violence, pedophilia, etc. I was told by a man that I was merely “virtue signaling.” He laughed at “morally righteous atheists,” as if it was impossible. I told him he was engaged in narcissistic abuse, with the way he belittled me, gave “haha” faces, etc. And he responded, “Oh and what about YOU? YOU’RE calling me an abuser. Hypocrite.”
No I’m not. It is the emotional equivalent of self-defense. If someone is about to murder me, it doesn’t make me a murderer if I fight back. (Although, funnily enough, in Rand’s system, it would. See: Rand Did Not Support Your Right to Self-Defense). But most people readily agree that you have a right to self-defense–that you get to fight back (Rand does not say you get to fight back. She says you must delegate it to government so it can be rational, clear, legally correct, etc.)
You don’t get to turn me into a pacifist. You don’t get to punch all day long and then if I punch back, declare I am a “hypocrite.” This system of thought guarantees the abusive gain power and stay in power. It is, of course, the Christian position, verbatim (“turn the other cheek”).
Yes. I will call out your narcissistic abuse, abuse, misogyny, etc. I’ll even do it in a rough and pointed way. I am not stopped by your accusations of hypocrisy. I will call those out too.
This is what abusers do. They make such a scene as to deflect attention off of themselves. They aren’t abusive; you are. YOU called them abusive. That makes YOU the abuser. Blame shifting is what they do. It is moral inversion.
Or, if anything, it makes the victim so crazy that nothing gets solved or fixed. They want to keep it at a level of dirt throwing, accusations and counteraccusations, and word salad. If anything, it wastes everyone’s time–which is in their interest.. See through it. Keep pushing. Assume the posture of being moral superior. Because you are.